Chemo brain, organization and ADD

Sister has been listening to me complain about what I call brain damage. After four years, I really believe that I am continuing to suffer from chemo brain. Every now and then, I go over the symptoms with Sister who feels they relate to ADD, so she got me a book on it. Having chemo brain, I seldom read a book from cover to cover starting on chapter one. Because this book is written for people with ADD it is not designed to be read conventionally anyway; this helped me to stick with it. Skimming through the chapters, I began to see how chemo-brain could be diagnosed as ADD. This isn’t so far fetched. Back in December of 2006, I was invited to participate in a Webcast on HealthTalk about chemo brain (worth listening to from the archives if you have the time). The other guest was a doctor doing research on chemo brain who applauded my using caffeine in the afternoons when my focus and energy were waning. He suggested that one thing that has worked in his research is stimulants, which is what Ritalin (methylphenidate) and other ADD drugs are.

Well, still not ready to lump myself in with bratty pre-adolescent boys, I continued to read the book with skepticism, until I got to the chapter on piles. I found it so odd that in the middle of the book, therefore one of the first chapters I read, was a description of my organization style. I hate clutter, I always have. But since chemo, most mail, receipts and paper that come into my house end up in piles. I have neatly stacked piles everywhere, which still makes the place look cluttered. When I get tired of looking at the piles, I put them in lovely baskets, or boxes under the couch in the office. Then I start new piles. Imagine my shock when this book described my piles and the use of them as a symptom of adult ADD. Before chemo brain, I was organized and had files and packets for all important papers and nothing extra in my house – no piles. Does this mean I now have chemo brain or ADD? I’m losing what little I have of my mind just thinking about it.

The other major symptom I complain about is that things fall out of my head. I still have problems retaining info so I have to write everything down. Sister thinks I now need to work with a psychiatrist to find a way to relieve my symptoms. My search will be for one that has worked with cancer patients. This may take some time and lots of piles.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN

Kathy-Ellen is a Registered Nurse living in Michigan. In 2003, Kathy-Ellen was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. She was cancer-free from April 2004 until December of 2013 when it was discovered that...read more